If Marvel and Hallmark had a baby, it would be A Superhero For Christmas
A Superhero for Christmas, a holiday superhero romantic comedy by H. L. Burke arrives to save the day November 5th, 2022.
Pre-order now so it hits your E-readers in plenty of time for Christmas.
This cozy Christmas romance takes place in the same world as Burke’s Supervillain Rehabilitation Project, but can be read independently.
A SUPERHERO FOR CHRISTMAS
When superhero, Glint’s, aka Henry Nichols’s, powers go on the fritz after a supervillain attack, he finds himself rethinking his priorities. Years of devotion to public service have left him with little for himself, and with forty swiftly approaching, he finds himself longing for his youth on his grandfather’s farm. An incognito vacation is just what he needs.
Former reporter Lara Landis lost her career and her only long-term relationship all in one humiliating blow. Broke and rudderless, she retreats to her parents’ small town grocery store to try and make one last career rally, but how is she going to get a big scoop living in the middle of nowhere? When a poorly disguised superhero lands in her neighborhood, insisting that he’s just a normal guy, she can’t help but smell a story.
As their chance encounters turn into a begrudging friendship, Lara is surprised to find a caring, sincere human beneath Henry’s press-conference-ready exterior. When the truth comes out, though, her big story could turn into his worst nightmare.
What are early readers saying about A Superhero for Christmas?
Hallmark and Marvel got together to have a baby, Superhero for Christmas. An adorable heart-warming cozy read for the reader looking for some superhero charm with their rom-com.~Ticia
Christmas, romance, and superheroes…this story lifted my heart up, up, and away!~Ernie Laurence, Jr, author of the Islands of Loar series.
A cozy Christmas rom-com with superheroes… it doesn’t get better than this! ~ Brianna
This story has all of the feels with, thankfully, not a thing that was sappy. This is how I have always wished Hallmark holiday stories were written. ~ Veronica Lynn AKA Mrs. Spellsmith
H. L. Burke has written more books than she can count—because she’s written a lot of books, not just because she can’t count very high.
Easily distracted by shinies, she has published in many subgenres including fantasy romance, Steampunk, and superhero, and always creates story worlds with snark, feels, and wonder.
Married to her high school crush, she spends her time writing, spoiling her cat, and supervising her two supervillains in training (aka her precocious daughters).
An Oregon native, she wilts without trees and doesn’t mind the rain. She is a fan of delicious flavor, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.
I hope hearing about H.L. Burke’s new book on Sunday got you hyped for superheroes. Today’s feature is another Superhero genre offering.
I corresponded with the authors of the book Dear hero, and their upcoming release Dear Henchman. Continue reading to learn all about their new book and a little about their writing process.
Every Hero needs a sidekick. Dear Henchman. Every Villain needs a Henchman
Interview with Hope and Alyssa:
What Is Dear Henchman About?
Henchmen and sidekicks aren’t supposed to fall in love. Or save the world. They’re supposed to brew coffee, take pics of their hero/villain for social media, and stay in the background.
That was sidekick-slash-frat boy Kevin and henchwoman-slash-tech genius Himari’s plan, until a taxidermy-collecting villain robs Kevin’s hero of his powers and leaves Himari’s villain wounded. Now it’s up to the sidekicks and henchies to save the world.
Without powers, they’ll go up against the Shadow Assassins (a deadly organization that can’t work a PowerPoint to save their lives), road trips-slash-kidnappings, and strange initiation rituals that may or may not involve singing campfire songs.
Himari and Kevin will battle the odds, their insecurities, and their weird affinity for Mexican food as they discover if they have just what it takes to save the world from a nuclear disaster.
Do You Have a Favorite Character?
Hope: Definitely. Hands down for this book, it goes to Liam. He’s probably crazy, collects taxidermy, and makes sure that his captees are well-hydrated and get to eat french toast. He’s the weirdest person I’ve ever written, and I want to marry him.
Alyssa: Hate to be a copycat, but Liam. Hope did a brilliant job, and I laughed the entire time we were writing.
What Was the Best Part about Writing Dear Henchman?
Hope: I couldn’t stop laughing. I don’t think my diaphragm has ever hurt this much. I still can’t go through the galleys or ARCs without cracking up and sending Alyssa some of my favorite lines.
Alyssa: There’s usually a point when writing a book where you just want to chuck your laptop across the room. That didn’t happen for Henchman. We just had the time of our lives, and I loved getting surprised by every new wacky thing the characters did.
What Was the Hardest Part about Writing Dear Henchman?
Hope: Well SOMEONE *glares at Alyssa* decided she wanted to beat our record from the last book. In our last book, Dear Hero, we wrote the first draft in 9 days. So SOMEONE decided, “Let’s do it in 8.” We did. And we had a ton of fun. But man, oh man, the one day where we wrote 10,000 words straight without meal breaks … that one was a lot.
Alyssa: Whaaaaat, who could that be? Writing wise, I think the hardest part for me was the romance thread. The adventure is so wild and fast-paced, making time for love to blossom was important.
Was It Harder to Write a Sequel?
Hope: Yes and no. I think, because we had a familiarity with the world, that we didn’t have to start from scratch. With that said, the more books you have, the more potential you have for plot gaps or errors. We had to check ourselves a lot to make sure we didn’t run into any contradictions.
Alyssa: I absolutely loved getting to write more with some of our favorite characters. It felt like writing fan-fic sometimes, but of our own work! We did have a lot more of a high-concept plot this time, though, so there was a lot more effort that went into world building.
What Are You Hoping Readers Take Away from This?
Hope: Besides laughs, we wanted to show a bit of burnout and social media fatigue. There’s so much pressure on Gen Z to have their lives figured out by the time they leave high school, and we wanted to show what that looks like for young superheroes. About how they feel the pressure to be super influencers instead of actually saving people. But we really didn’t set out to write some great moral message, or whatever. We just want readers to have fun, laugh a lot, and fall in love with the characters.
Alyssa: I’ve written books with more serious tones and messages (including some coming out in the next few years with Hope), but for this series, it’s really all about having fun. As an adult, sometimes I feel burnt out by the grittiness of YA and New Adult, and I just want to read something funny. Why should middle grade have all the fun? Of course, there’s plenty of action, angst, and heart-to-hearts, but I’m hoping people just have a good time reading.
What Do You Do When You’re Not Writing?
Hope: HAHAHA you mean besides crying and having existential crises? I like to do some runway modeling, go on hikes, dress up in public for no reason, and do theater. Oh and playing handbells. They’re the hottest instrument since the lyre.
Alyssa: Try to entertain my insane cat, Kookoo, who thinks he belongs on the keyboard and has made it his life mission to drink my coffee when I leave it unattended for two seconds. I’ve decided to attribute any and all typos to his mad dashes across my desk. Other than that, when I’m not writing, I’m working full time in the publishing industry as an agent, editor, freelancer, and publicist, reading for fun, playing party games and D&D over Zoom, and re-organizing my bookshelves for the ten thousandth time.
Hope Bolinger is an editor at Crosswalk.com, literary agent at C.Y.L.E., and a graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 1,000 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her modern-day Daniel trilogy released its first two installments with IlluminateYA, and the final one, Vision, releases in August of 2021. She is also the co-author of the Dear Hero duology, which was published by INtense Publications. And her inspirational adult romance Picture Imperfect releases in October of 2021. Find out more about her at her website.
Alyssa Roat has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and marketer. She is the publicity manager at Mountain Brook Ink, an associate literary agent at Cyle Young Literary Elite, an editor with Sherpa Editing Services, and a freelance writer with 200+ bylines in local, national, and international publications.
Alyssa is the co-author with Hope Bolinger of the YA superhero chat fiction romance Dear Hero and the sequel, Dear Henchman. Her solo debut, the YA contemporary fantasy Wraithwood, releases July 2021. Her name is a pun, which means you can learn more about her at alyssawrote.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as @alyssawrote.
Remember that author I really like? The one who writes about the superheroes. Yes you got it, that author. Well she is releasing the final book and I got the cover for it right here. If you have already read the first three books in the SVR series then I know you just the shiny cover. So I won’t tease you with it any longer. Here it is:
Isn’t this the cutest family you’ve every seen on the cover of a superhero novel? It is probably the only family I’ve seen on the cover of a superhero novel outside of an Incredibles novelization. That is one of the things I love most about this series, it’s sense of family. Though the author’s sense of humor isn’t bad either.
Refined: Supervillain Rehabilitation Project Book 4, the final book in the SVR series by H. L. Burke releases March 5th 2021!
BLURB
It’s hard to be a hero when crime is in your DNA.
Now a full time hero with a beloved wife and treasured daughter, former supervillain Fade is certain nothing could take him down a dark path again. However, a mystery from his past lies in wait, a mystery tied to a part of his life he’d rather forget.
When DNA evidence reveals that Fade’s biological father is the elusive and enigmatic assassin known only as Syphon, Fade wants nothing to do with that mess.
Unfortunately, Fade can’t shake the target this newly discovered connection puts on him—and the backs of his friends and family.
Fade’s only chance to fix things is taking down Syphon himself.
But Fade’s long absent father has his own plans for their reunion.
Plans that could cost Fade everything he’s fought and bled to create.
The book is on a special pre-order sale from February 4th through 14th, available for only 99 cents. This book is the endgame of the Marvelous superhero series, featuring adventure, humor, and a whole lot of heart.
H. L. Burke has written more books than she can count—because she’s written a lot of books, not just because she can’t count very high.
Easily distracted by shinies, she has published in many sub-genres including fantasy romance, Steampunk, and superhero, and always creates story worlds with snark, feels, and wonder.
Married to her high school crush, she spends her time writing, spoiling her cat, and supervising her two supervillains in training (aka her precocious daughters).
An Oregon native, she wilts without trees and doesn’t mind the rain. She is a fan of delicious flavor, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.
So you may have seen me post on here a few times about The amazing H.L. Burke and her character driven Feels inducing superhero series, The Supervillain Rehabilitation Project.
I you have not yet started these books, then I have good news for you. Burke is running a sale until the 12th of October.
You still have a few days left to take advantage of H.L. Burke’s SVR sale and get started on on this amazing series.
So much super hero goodness for less than two bucks!
Well, slightly over two bucks after tax, but still a really good deal.
Now I know I’ve already spoiled the cover by showing the sales graphics above, but just to make it official and all here’s a big version followed by the blurb. Though if you are like me and have already read the first two books in the series, you saw 99 cent preorder and have already “one clicked” to reserve your copy.
Supervillain Rehabilitation Project 3: Reborn
The worst blows come from those closest to your heart.
Idealistic superhero, Prism, has taken the Supervillain Rehabilitation Project to new heights. With her team thriving, her marriage to former supervillain, Fade, blissful, and her first child on the way, the life of her dreams is within reach … but supervillains never rest.
When a mysterious gang of criminals targets superhero facilities, Prism’s team springs into action. However, these villains have a nasty surprise in store for Prism: all its members are already dead … and one of them is a ghost from Prism’s past. One she can’t bring herself to take down.
Faced with an enemy who always strikes for the heart, Prism has impossible decisions to make. Choices that could cost her the things—and people—she cares for the most.
H.L. Burke
Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic. Her obsessions include dragons and tales about inner beauty and character overcoming extreme circumstances. Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.
And if you love Steampunk, Magic and Faerie adventures, then you need to checkout the Spellsmith and carver series also by H.L. Burke. It has snarky magicians instead of snarky superheroes. Conveniently also on sale for a few days. Get them for 99 cents each. https://amzn.to/36GapuK
C. O. Bonham 